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One of Aleksi’s greatest heroes is Meriwether Lewis (not only because they share the same birthday), and as I slowly make my way through Stephen E. Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage, we comment how wonderful it is that so much documentation from Lewis’ life (and the lives of other greats mentioned often in the book, like Thomas Jefferson) comes from both from his journals and from the letters he wrote to family, friends and colleagues.

As Aleksi prepared to leave for Finland we talked about writing letters to one another as a way to grow closer despite the distance between us.

For the first time since the New Year, I picked up Undaunted Courage last night; and, fittingly, Aleksi’s first letter to me (5 full pages, front-and-back!) arrived in the mail today. What a treat!

There is someone in Aleksi’s neighborhood (which is full of dogs) who is very militant about dogs being on leashes, and about all dog poop being picked up and properly disposed of. I really can sympathize with this person, because let’s face it, it’s bad form to leave puppy droppings behind. However, this vigilante gets a little extreme, leaving strongly worded notes next to piles of poo, notes that say things like “PICK UP AFTER YOUR DOG! I AM WATCHING YOU!”

Apparently that in-your-face tactic has not worked, and they have turned to making more subtle tongue-in-cheek statements instead:

To top off what already felt like a long day at work, two of our clients showed up half an hour late for a meeting this afternoon. Frustrated, the first words out of my mouth were going to be the grumpy interrogation “why were you so late??!”

but

before I had a chance to say anything, one of the women asked “would you like a tamale and cantaloupe juice?”

so, instead, the first words out of my mouth, were a grateful and eager “yes, please, thank you”.

and as I happily nibbled and sipped I reflected on my mood change, realizing that if someone brings me tasty food it really is okay that they are late.

Isabelle Allende is a Chilean author born in Peru and living in the United States. I relate to her activism and her migratory lifestyle, and relish her dream-like tales . This is the cover of her Zorro , a novel that puts a new spin on the early life and the legend of “The Fox“.

Pleases me greatly that now that I know of her books, she and her characters will accompany through the rest of my days.